Eni began her descent down the stony slope. The soles of her shoes clicked loudly against the gravel. Below, in the shadow of a split cliff, yawned the black maw of the bunker. The concrete edges of the entrance were gnawed by time, and from within wafted a sepulchral chill and something metallic.

  "Where are you going, Eni?" The Voice burst into her thoughts sharply, like ice water down her collar. The softness from five minutes ago was gone.

  "I saw an abandoned bunker," Eni replied aloud, adjusting the heavy axe on her shoulder. "I want to go in. Maybe there are things left. Food or... something useful."

  "No. You will not go there, Eni. It is dangerous." The Voice became hard as granite. It was a command that brooked no argument.

  Eni stopped. The wind tugged at the hem of her short uniform, exposing the pale skin of her thighs above her violet stockings. "Dangerous? But it's just old ruins."

  The Voice fell silent for a moment, and then a heavy, almost human sigh escaped it: "No, child, it is not so. Within that bunker dwell those whose souls have utterly rotted away. Zombies. You are still too weak to fight them. They will tear your beautiful clothes, Eni. They will tear your body."

  Eni paused, looking at her hands. The same hands that bore no trace of the spider bites. "But I have an axe. And I... I've realized that I feel almost no pain. If they don't kill me instantly, I'll manage. Besides, you said yourself that I need to kill the corrupted to grow."

  In Eni's mind, there was a strange sensation—as if the Voice had suffered a hitch, surprised by her unexpected logic. "Mgeh... yes... You are right. But I simply... I worry too much about you."

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  "No, I'm going," Eni cut in stubbornly. A masochistic thrill of danger pricked somewhere in her lower abdomen. She was afraid, but the fear was sweet.

  The Voice sighed again, but now there was a hint of resignation in it. Or... approval? "Fine. Then perhaps we shall activate 'The Card'? So that you may become stronger."

  "The Card?" Eni froze. The word resonated in her chest with a strange vibration.

  "Yes, Eni. Corrupted souls are raw material. But the 'Card' is your true essence, which turns this raw material into pure power. Right now, you won't be able to leave even a scratch on a zombie. But... if you want to survive the bunker, you need 'fuel.' Kill that four-meter scarecrow in the field. It will give you enough corruption to enter the darkness of the bunker not as a victim, but as a hunter."

  Eni looked back at the mountain, where the pumpkin head of the monster loomed behind the wooden fence. It was logical. And hauntingly simple. "But it's huge... it could just step over the fence when I hit it."

  "No, it cannot," the Voice now sounded confident, almost cheerful. "Its legs are old dry logs. They do not bend. It is trapped in its cage, Eni. It is your easy prey."

  Eni believed it. Before returning, she went down to the river. Her thirst was unbearable. She pressed herself to the water, ignoring the sand and the foul silt. The briny water burned her throat; she grimaced, spitting out the muddy suspension, but she drank—greedily, like an animal.

  Ascending the mountain again, she approached the gate. The four-meter nightmare froze just a couple of steps from her. Eni could smell the scent of musty straw and stale death. Gathering all her strength, she swung the axe. The blade entered the monster's black flesh with a dull thud.

  The monster roared—the sound was like the cracking of breaking trees. Its clawed paws slashed the air centimeters from Eni's face, but the gate and fence became an insurmountable barrier for it. It jerked, senselessly and furiously, while Eni methodically delivered blow after blow. When it was all over, the creature collapsed into a pile of rotten straw and black ash.

  "Well done, Eni!" the Voice exulted. "You have received a sufficiently heavy, corrupted soul for your first improvement."

  Eni stood, breathing heavily, looking at what remained of her enemy. "And... how do I become stronger?"

  "Simply close your eyes. Feel your 'Mad Card.' Think of 'Power'—and it shall be yours."

  Eni squeezed her eyes shut. She imagined invisible threads stretching from the monster's ash to her chest. And suddenly, her muscles were filled with leaden weight, followed by explosive energy. The skin beneath her violet uniform pulsed. It wasn't painful; it was... ecstatic.

  "Well done, Eni. Now you have become stronger..." the Voice whispered.

  Eni opened her eyes. The world around her hadn't changed, but she could feel the power in her legs; she felt the axe seem even lighter. She was ready...